Gifts for Piano Players Or Meiling and the Pink Piano

Meiling Martin is a smiley friendly sweet person whose favorite color is pink! When our grand piano purse shipment arrived, I knew they were perfect gifts for piano players, so I gifted her a Red Fleur de Lys Piano Purse. It was the closest that I could come to pink."Pink is my signature color.  I wear pink every day.  My friends or students will tease me if I am sick because I wear different color clothes once a while. "  In the photo below, "my sister, Meiwen, a good friend Janis & I visited a toffee museum (in Taiwan); we saw the old Pink piano."1. Violettes:  How did you grow up getting interested in Piano?Meiling: I heard friends learning & playing piano when I was 11 years old. I really liked the sound. I asked my mom if I could learn how to play piano. She said yes even though she didn't know what a piano looked like. After taking one year of piano lessons I decided to become a piano teacher.I came to the US from Taipei, Taiwan in 1986 to get a degree in piano performance at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  Because of the school system here, it was easier to choose the major I wanted to study. Even though I had been teaching piano for Yamaha School for 5 & 1/2 years, I still wanted to learn to play more advanced repertoire & acquire more knowledge about teaching piano.I have been teaching piano lessons since 1990 with 1 & 1/2 year break when I was freshman & sophomore in college.  I currently have 30 families taking piano lessons.   I am involved in different music teachers organizations in the area.  The majority of my students participate in piano festival & competition.  Because I strongly feel students need to have a goal toward piano learning.  I am very fortunate to have one on one special relationships with students.  Hopefully I can have an impact on their music learning, and help them to apply their musical learning to their daily life.My favorite music is Romantic music-- Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. I love to play and listen to their music too.I teach Catherine Rollin for beginner & early intermediate students. Chopin for advanced students.2. Violettes:  Do you have any fun stories about giving lessons?Meiling:  I love to use a silly example to teach a concept; a topping (accompaniment) on the ice cream (melody) is just like balance between hands, or how to put on make up expresses the proper use of pedal. My students love to hear my example of Rondo (ABACA) by using 3 of their favorite ice creams.I love when I meet my former students who tell me they appreciate that I taught them to be the best of what they do.3. Violettes:  Do you have other hobbies?Meiling:  I love reading & watching shows online. My favorite books are Thorn Birds, mystery & detective novels. My favorite movies are Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia, Notebook, & Somewhere in Time.Since my parents are getting old I go home to Taiwan every year. I mainly spend time with my parents and sisters. I also go out with friends to eat. We enjoy chatting, sightseeing & shopping.Meiling sent lovely photos from her summer trips home.